Seal



Feb. 18, 1941.

C. A. RICH SEAL Filed Dec. 6, 1 937 [NVEN TOR CHARLES A. RICH Mg ATTO RNEY Patented Feb. 18, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEAL Charles A. Rich, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Morgan Construction Company, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application December 6-, 1937, Serial'No. 178,215 1 Claim. (Cl. 286-11) This invention relates to seals, and more particularly to the construction and arrangement of seals for excluding foreign matter, such as water and scale, from the roll neck bearings in a rolling mill.

In the rolling of hot metal bars, strips, sheets, etc., it is customary to apply large quantities of water to the rolls, and much of the scale which is produced by oxidation of the stock is carried 1 away by the water. If this water and scale reaches the roll neck hearings or mlngles with the bearing lubricant, serious damage may result. Various types of seals have been employed heretofore to solve this problem, but these prior constructions have not proven to be entirely satisfactory. In some cases the seals have been complicated and expensive, and in other cases it has been necessary to use extreme precision in manufacture in order that the parts might be interchangeable to facilitate replacement. In still other cases the seals have failed to operate eiilciently, and foreign matter has not been excluded as desired. Certain prior seal constructions have been subject to rapid wear, with a comparatively short life of service.

It is accordingly one object of the invention to provide a seal which will be comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a seal which will not requiregreat precision in its manufacture. and yet will be interchangeable with other similar seals to facilitate replacement of the seals when worn.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a seal which will be highLv efllcient in excluding foreign matter, and which will remain emcient throughout a long life of service.

with these and other objects in view. as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claim appended hereto.

Referring to the drawing illustrating onee'mr bodiment of the invention and in which like reference numerals indicate like parts,

Pig. 1 is a view showing the invention applied to a horizontal roll, certain parts being shown in longitudinal section;

l'ig. 2 is a fragmentary view of a portion of Pig. 1, on a greatly enlarged scale;

50 Pig. 3 is an elevation of a seal, viewed in the axial direction; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the seal. The embodiment illustrated comprises a horizontalroll ll havingarollneck II andashoulder I! on the end of the roll barrel. The roll neck with an annular rib H is rotatably supported in a bearing having a casing ll of which only a portion is shown. The roll neck bearing is preferably of the oil film type disclosed in the United States patent to Dahlstrom No. 2,018,055.

In the process of rolling hot metal, large quantitles of water are applied to the roll it, and it is important to exclude this water and any scale carried thereby from the roll neck bearings. For this purpose an annular sealing element i5 is 10 supported by the bearing casing It in surrounding relation to the roll neck H and in contact with the shoulder it. on the roll. This sealing element I5 is formed of a comparatively thin strip of a suitable flexible material, such as rubber, and comprises a sealing portion i6, (Fig. 2) which flares radially outward and which is preferably inclined at a small angle toward the shoulder II. This portion It as shown is generally frustoconical in shape, with a large conical angle. and contact with the shoulder It occurs over an annular area located adjacent the outer margin of the sealing element. The outwardly flaring por-' tion It is supported at its inner edge, and for this purpose the element I5 is preferably made generally .L-shaped in cross-section, one leg of the L being formed by the portion 16 and the other leg being formed by a substantially cylindrical portion ll extending toward the casing I4 and supported thereby. The casing I4 is provided so I! which projects toward the shoulder II, this rib having a cylindrical outer surface which contacts with the inner surface of the portion ll of the sealing element to support the same.

The natural resilience of the sealing element It is preferably supplemented by suitable spring means arranged to maintain the sealing element in firm contact with the shoulder it. For this purpose I have shown a comparatively thin metal strip 2| similar in shape to the element 85 and engaging its outer surface. This strip it is likewise L-shaped in cross-section, with an outwardly flaring leg 22 generally frusto-conical in shape and an inner leg 23 substantially cylindrical in shape. As shown in Fig. 3, the outer portion 22 is provided with notches qr serrations 24 to in-= crease its flexibility.

In order to secure'the sealing element is and the spring 2| firmly in position, I preferably to utilize a metal band 26 bent into a circular form and engaging the outer surface of the portion 23 of the spring. This band is shown fastened to thepartsliand ll bymeansofaseriesofcir cumferentially spaced rivets II. The ends of the a band 26 are slightly spaced apart, as shown in Fig. 3, and bent to provide a pair of outwardly extending lugs 28 which are connected by a bolt 30. By tightening this bolt the parts may be clamped firmly in position. It will be noted in Fig. 2 that one edge of the band 26 engages a. shoulder 3| on the casing H at assembly, this serving to locate the seal accurately in the axial direction.

It is desirable to facilitate the immediate escape of any water which might find its way inwardly between the seal l5 and the shoulder ii. For this purpose the seal l5 and the spring II are interrupted to form a gap or opening It (Fig. 3) which is preferably coextensive with the space between the lugs 28. At assembly this opening ll is placed at the bottom, beneath the roll neck ll, so that water may flow outwardly therethrough by gravity. A

The operation of the invention will now be apparentfrom the above disclosure. As the roll it rotates, the serrated spring 2| holds the outer edge of the sealing element I5 in firm contact with the shoulder l2. This provides a very effective seal to exclude water and scale from the interior of the bearing casing I4, and matter as does enter. will immediately escape through the opening 33 at thebottom. The bolt 30 provides a very simple means for clamping the parts securely to the bearing casing irrespective any such foreign 7 of slight variations in the diameter of the seal or of the rib 19. Hence the seals can be made interchangeable without requiring great accuracy in manufacture, and they can be readily applied to manufacture, and it will operate eificiently throughout a long life of service.

Having thus described my invention, what, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patont is:

In combination with a horizontal rotatable element having a shoulder, a bearing casing surrounding a portion of said element and provided with our annular rib which extends toward the shoulder, an annular seal surrounding the rib and extending into sealing contact with the shoulder, the seal being interrupted beneath the element to provide a gap, and fastening means connecting the ends of the seal adjacent the gap to draw said ends toward one another in such a manner as to secure the seal firmly to the rib without entirely closing said gap.

CHARLES A. RICH. 

